What Are Food Hazards?

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Food hazards can be generally defined as a state or pollutant that may have the potential to cause disease. The issues of food hazards have become widely recognized internationally in the last decade. With modern technology, scientists have been able to identify foodborne diseases prompted by food hazards on a global scale and have acknowledged these hazards as a primary cause of morbidity (Friis, 2012). I chose to focus on food hazards, their significance, and their effect on a global scale because this is an issue that most people have, at some point, encountered throughout life. In my own life, I’ve experienced mild illness as a result of food that had been exposed to harmful bacteria, and have known individuals who faced more serious health …show more content…

Understanding how these hazards come about is an important part of preventing instances of foodborne illness and infection and figuring out how newer and more dangerous hazards may be developed in the future. The fact is that average people and the decisions that they make assume a significant role in the practice of food safety. Hazards as they relate to food are issues that are easily resolved when people are better informed about the subject, and take the necessary precautions to avoid them. In this paper, we’ll explore the different types of food hazards as they relate to foodborne diseases and infections, how they impact society as a whole, and what is being done to prevent …show more content…

We know that food hazards have the potential to cause serious damage to the body. Many sicknesses transmitted by foods can lead to adverse health effects, such as chronic conditions, injuries, and debilities. By looking at how many cases of foodborne illness are reported, we’re able to identify the prevalence of food hazards in that location at a certain point in time. In 2006 alone, the CDC reported over 27.5 thousand documented outbreaks of foodborne disease in the United States (Friis, 2012). That being said, it’s clear that as a nation we still struggle to ensure that our food is safe for consumption by the consumer. Even with all of the modern technology, guidelines, and regulations in place, food hazards are still able to reach the general population. However, it’s important to consider that the fault is not always due to errors in quality control during production and manufacturing. Once in the hands of the consumer, there’s a lot of room for error. This is the single biggest contributor to the number of reported cases of foodborne illness. In the United States, one of the world’s most developed nations, the prevalence of foodborne illness and disease remains high because the majority of the population is not educated well enough on the subject and often

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